No, I’m not a hopeless romantic neither am I one to crave cheesy gestures. I am, however, a member of the generation which seems to be single-handedly stomping overĀ love-related emotions and am questioning that direction. Think of it this way; we no longer want relationships and if we find ourselves wavering towards one, we retreat and give in to our fear of commitment. We’re slowly being sucked into the hook-up culture and gradually killing off the idea of actual love. Why does this seem to be the case? Here are some possible reasons:

We Date for Casual Fun:

We don’t want our dates to raise questions or lead on to any possible commitment. We go out with one person today and another the next day. We swipe right and left on Tinder more than we brush our teeth. We’re looking for fun; easy, commitment-free, headache-free fun. We want what we want and we want it now, without thinking twice about the future.

No One Practiced What They Preach:

I once had one of my best friends tell me that if ever she gets married, she’ll probably get a divorce because that has been the case with all the women in her family. Her parents are divorced, her grandparents were as well and so are all her parents’ cousins and relatives. Many members of this generation grew up within broken homes with both parents constantly bringing the worst out of each other. Naturally, when such parents ask their sons/daughters when they’re going to settle down with one person, they scoff at the idea and shrug it off.

The Lack of Actual Communication:

We ask each other out, check on each other, profess our feelings, and breakup over hurried, 200-character texts. Whatever happened to good old phone calls or actual face-to-face meet-ups that happen regularly rather than once every week or two? Quite unsurprisingly, this instant medium of communication got us more and more used to the hurried lifestyle that we currently live with. Why make an actual effort to impress someone when you can just text them a heart emoji?

We’re Constantly Maneuvering Power and Heartbreak:

We’re on the constant mission to have the most power in whatever possible relationship we’re embarking on and be in the least risky position when it comes to possible heartbreak. We all know for a fact that whoever cares less ends up hurting less and so we make sure we put on this iron exterior of emotional unavailability. Thus, it seems way easier to go on emotionless dates than to put our hearts and soul into a full-on relationship.

 

On a concluding note, while it is quite a shame that we grew up to be advocates of commitment-free fun than actual love, the reason why that’s the case is still quite rational and explicable. Allow me to, however, leave you with some food for thought: casual hook-ups end up leaving a person feeling empty and lonely and so they can’t literally be this generation’s way out forever, can they?